Crossing the Chasm Helping Testers Make an Agile Transition Lisa Crispin With material from Janet Gregory

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1 Crossing the Chasm Helping Testers Make an Agile Transition Lisa Crispin With material from Janet Gregory 1

2 Agenda Introduction The Chasm Support for the Transition Transition of Traditional Activities Building a Bridge Q & A References 2

3 Introduction Me: Coding, testing Joined first agile team in 2000 Tester's place in agile unclear! Currently on Scrum/XP team Developing Java-based web app Since 2003 Help agile teams/testers 3 Copyright 2009 Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

4 Introduction Our Goals Give you traction in agile testing Show you what to look for And where to find it Audience Goals What are your problems? What do you hope to get out of this presentation? 4

5 Challenges to Crossing the Chasm Separate test team No common language Fear loss of identity Testing always at the end Organizational culture Don t know enough about agile concepts Lack technical and tool skills Physical limitations work space 5

6 What Support Do You Need? Management Support Whole Team Support The Right Physical Logistics New Roles Training Agile Principles and Values Communication Strategies New Testing Terminology Tools 6

7 Management Commitment Allow self-organization Provide the right motivation Provide time to learn Provide resources To enable learning To do the job successfully (tools, infrastructure) 7

8 Whole Team Commitment Deliver quality Deliver value Every role has equal value Automation Ensure testing is done Anyone can pick up a testing task Manage resources as a team 8

9 Physical Logistics Workspaces Seating arrangements Test environments Distributed teams 9

10 New Roles Tester QA Manager Functional Analyst What s blocking progress? 10

11 Agile Tester Role Provide feedback Defects are only one kind Estimating and planning Elicit and clarify requirements Uncover hidden assumptions Watch for testability Ask questions Drive development - capture examples as tests Collaborate: customers & programmers 11

12 QA Manager Role Practice manager Resourcing Letting testers do what they do best Provide support Consider performance / reward changes No blame 12

13 Functional Analyst Role When customers aren t available Empowered to make decisions Deep domain understanding Good technical understanding 13

14 What s Blocking Your Team? Your team needs the expertise it needs Analyze what is keeping you from progressing Do you need a database expert? Do you need performance testing help? Do you need more testers, more programmers, functional managers...? What about customer side? 14

15 Training Learn agile principles, vocabulary Build a common vocabulary Testing terminology Types of tests Communication, collaboration skills Tools Code management Test automation

16 Agile Principles, Vocabulary Agile Manifesto Individuals and interactions Working software Customer collaboration Responding to change Vocabulary Release Planning Iterations Stories Continuous Integration 16

17 Testing Terminology Acceptance Tests Exploratory Testing Agile Testing Quadrants Think about all test types Non-functional tests Test Automation Pyramid 17

18 18

19 Communication and Collaboration Skills Elicit examples, requirements Example-writing workshops Examples as a common language Work with customer team Learn the domain Learn who does what Work with technical team Learn system architecture Learn tools 19

20 Tools To manage code Source code control Continuous integration Test environment deployment and maintenance IDEs To automate tests Scripting language Functional test tools 20

21 Transition Traditional Test Activities User Acceptance Testing (UAT) Get users involved early Defect Tracking Consider alternatives Focus on prevention, not tracking Quality Models ITIL SOX CMMI Audits 21

22 Discussion Give us an example of an obstacle blocking your or your test team's transition to agile. Who has an idea of how to help overcome that obstacle? (We will discuss and possibly role-play as time permits). 22

23 Building a Bridge What development teams can do What managers, coaches can do What programmers can do What testers can do 23

24 Success Story eplan Services Inc. Team given time, training to learn TDD, CTDD Retrospectives used to continually improve Team consensus to select test tools, frameworks Engineering Sprints to try new tools, refactor, upgrade All roles have equal value Team support of audits Team support of compliance 24 Copyright 2009 Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

25 What can the team do? Collaborate, pair across roles Establish environment of safety, respect Incorporate testers into development team Parity with programmers, other developers Use business-facing tests as a common language 25 Copyright 2009 Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

26 What Can the Team Do? Commit to whole team approach to testing, quality Use retrospectives Identify obstacles to testers, testing Focus on one or two problems at a time Experiment Celebrate successes no matter how small 26 Copyright 2009 Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

27 What can Managers, Coaches do? Provide the right physical, virtual infrastructure which facilitates collaboration Be patient Convince team that quality is the #1 goal Convince testers of team commitment to quality Give time to learn Educate team: No story is done until it s tested! Let team self-organize, find ways to improve Big visible charts to track progress Let team choose tools that work for them 27 Copyright 2009 Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

28 What Can Programmers Do? Ask testers for their help Offer testers your help Include testers in design discussions Share responsibility for testing, automation Practice TDD, CTDD well Help testers understand technical aspects Copyright 2009 Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory 28

29 What Can Testers Do? Collaborate with customer Provide tests for the developer Find ways you can add value Get involved at the start Focus on business value Face to face communication is always the best Get up and go talk Drawing on a whiteboard helps Copyright 2009 Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory 29

30 Building a Bridge Let go of your fears Share responsibility Use a team approach to solving problems Take charge of your education Use quadrants, pyramid as guides JUST TRY IT!! 30

31 Group Exercise Divide into small groups Take turns describing to the others in your group: What is your primary role on your current team? What s the biggest problem testers on your team are having in adapting to agile? What s the first thing you ll do when you go back to help address this problem? Share a couple of interesting ones with the class 31

32 Q & A 32

Some Agile Testing Resources lisa.crispin.home.att.net www.agilealliance.org www.

33 Some Agile Testing Resources lisa.crispin.home.att.net webtest.canoo.com fit.c2.com 33

34 Available for pre-order! Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams By Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory 34

35 Agile Resources User Stories Applied by Mike Cohn 35

36 Agile Resources Agile Estimating and Planning By Mike Cohn 36

37 Collaboration Collaboration Explained : Facilitation Skills for Software Project Leaders By Jean Tabaka Available on Amazon 37

38 Implementing Change Fearless Change: Patterns for introducing new ideas By Linda Rising and Mary Lynn Manns Available on Amazon 38

39 Agile Testing Resources Available on Amazon 39

40 Goal Have fun, whatever you do! lisacrispin.blogspot.com 40

Are Agile Testers Different?

Are Agile Testers Different? Agile Vancouver 2009 Lisa Crispin With Material from Janet Gregory 1 Introduction Me: Tester for ~ 14 years Programmer, tech support background Got involved with projects up